Two interesting research on solar PV cells

Ismail Kashkoush, Ph.D., Vice President Applications and Technology and Gim Chem, Ph.D. of Akrion Systems conducted experiments finding out the role of wafer surface quality in the etching characteristics of Silicon semiconductor wafers.

The release frm Akrion says "The final cleaning process in which an appropriate pyramid rounding step is added can further enhance the cell performance. At the same time, as low as possible metal signature on the wafers must be guaranteed by an advanced HF/HCl clean prior to the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process."

In another Solar PV related development Ricoh said it has succeeded in developing a dye-sensitized solar cell consisting of only solid state material as an electrolyte. This development results in power conversion improvement with weaker light source. By using solid state electrolyte, dye-sensitized solar cell can be more safer and durable.

Ricoh said "this solar cell achieved more than twice the generation of electric output under standard white LEDs (200 lux) compared to the electric output of amorphous silicon solar cells which have high power generation efficiency for indoor use in the current market."

The dye-sensitized solar cell is said to generate an electric power efficiently under weak light such as scattered and indoor lighting. A general dye-sensitized solar cell utilizes visible light absorbed by the pigment in order to generate electric power, says Ricoh.

Ricoh explains "It is composed of a transparent conductive substrate which has a porous layer consisting of titanium dioxide particles with nano (a billionth) meter size, a glass substrate which has metal film and iodine electrolyte encapsulated between these substrates. Despite being a promising candidate for next-generation solar cell, problems such as low generation efficiency, concern for safety (volatilization of iodine and organic solvent and electrolyte leakage) and durability (peeling-off of organic dye adsorbed on titanium dioxide) prevent it from being commercialized."

Ricoh has used a kind of structure for solar cell device which is similar to that of the organic photoconductor which is used for multifunction products (MFPs).